But I am Just Another Voice

The destructive behavior on the part of the post-concert-crowd occurred only after police entered the assemblage of concert-goers and utilized pepper spray.

Why did there need to be any destructive behavior on the part of the post-concert-crowd?  There was no need to intimidate or threaten an officer trying to do her job.  In fact, that's illegal. 

There was no need to destroy a police car to make any point.  If the post-concert-crowd was upset, they should have filed complaints with the police departments, not resort to destroying government property.

Would bullhorns really have done any good at any point?  Would rioters have listened and obeyed orders?  I doubt it.

"A point of view is only a view from a point..." ~ Unknown

...m'kay?

(I better hurry up and post before a docent decides enough is enough.)

Bert,

You seem to be trying very hard to deflect any and all blame for this incident squarely on the shoulders of OPD, TCSO and EVPD.  Your opinion, not shared by many. 

Just another Voice has made a very good response to your pleas to garner support for those arrested.  I'll add my two cents based on professional experiences.  However, lets keep in mind a few things here.  I'll do my best not to repeat what Voice has already posted.  But the OPD was called in after the students surrounded a police officer.  I don't know about you bert but I have been surrounded by very angry people who have refused to obey or even acknowledge simple requests, then demands then orders.  Would you be just a little bit worried?  The fact that this group showed there utter disrespect for anyone in authority should be a clue. 

You also need to keep in mind possibly the mindset of the concer goers.  They are still feeling wronged 'by the man' aka OPD for any perceived actions that happened during the November Port Protests and it was pretty clear that the favorite F(*( the Pigs mantra was quite loud that night.  Now lets factor in a hip hop group who advocates anarchy or whatnot against anything that resembles law and order. 

Now lets factor in the attitudes of the police.  Were they aggressive?  Hard for me to sit back and play judge and jury when it's convenient that there is only a small portion of the video shown.  A few friends in Olympia (both on the force and TESC administration) tell me that the EVPD officer was very worried for what might happen.  The students showed very little respect for her (see Voices statement) and for her duty that night.  What was said to the police when they showed up?  Do you know?  I don't!  As already stated, the police showed up with lights.  What does that imply to most thinking people?  What does it say when you show up and you hear chants of 'F*(& you' Go home! 

Now for personal experiences.  When you show up to a crowd surrounding a fellow officer you do what you can to ensure her safety and those around her.  As you can imagine there are those at TESC who have no respect for police.  Don't you think the OPD knows this?  In my experiences you want to strive to ensure that nobody is seriously injured or worse, killed.  That happened.  I'm surprised it wasn't worse than it was.  People degrade the 'Bald headed' cop, but what was happening before he was video-taped? 

Bullhorns/PA's are not a requirement to be used.  It helps, but the chanting would have made it impossible for most people to hear it. 

Police aren't perfect and they make mistakes.  We ask them to be perfect all the while we forget they are human.  We ask them to make split second decisions then second guess them on anonymous message boards.  We ask police to protect us but then criticize them when they do just that.  It's a never ending story.  Did OPD make mistakes here?  I don't know, show me a tape of everything that happened.  If you want to comment on the selected videos, the only difference I would have done was use stun grenades.  It quickly disperses a loud potentially violent group and the ringing effects in the ears wears off just as quick.  I don't think I would have engaged anyone.  It appears as though if you 'touch' a TESC student or supporter you are now in the middle of a civil suit.

(I must be having a bad evening as that is the most I have ever written!)

I realize that you just sat in on the arraignment today, so these ideas and questions are immediate. We did already go through a series of arguments regarding these same questions/issues.

I'm going to ask two questions of you: 1) In the comings weeks, would you please pay attention to the defense attorneys abilities to effectively bring up these questions? 2) Would you please take into consideration the possible negative reactions of your fellow OlyBloggers to information that has already been fought over?

I don't think you're intentionally being antagonistic here. I do think your post is an antagonist.

...in all of these comments over the last couple of weeks, is that no one has yet blamed St. Valentine's Day.

Could this whole holiday havoc be the hallmark of Hallmark?

A google search for .valentine's violence. turns up tons of crap I don't feel like clicking on right now. Did you know there is a band called Valentine's and Violence?

Anyhoo, it's obvious that there's a corelation between the Violence and Valentine's Day. I'm sure Violas fit in here somewhere, too.

Quoth bert:

[W]hy didn't the police utilize nonviolent options of resolving the conflict before escalating and resorting to violence?

According to TESC Police Services officer MEYERS, after she had arrested Kaylen WILLIAMS inside the CRC and was in the process of escorting him to her patrol car, she was accosted, first in the the CRC foyer, and again outside the CRC by her vehicle, by a group of concert attendees who objected to the arrest. Officer MEYERS has stated that she attempted to explain to the group that she had probable cause to arrest WILLIAMS (on the basis of a complaint made by an event security volunteer, who alleged that WILLIAMS had punched him in the face), and that if the members of the group believed that the information upon which she (MEYERS) was acting was incorrect or incomplete, she would be happy to take names and contact information so that she could take statements at the earliest opportunity.

Officer MEYERS also stated that she had the TESC dispatcher request backup units via CAPCOM for the purpose of administrative support; her intent was to leave the TCSO deputies at the CRC to take statements from anyone willing to come forward while she transported WILLIAMS to Sem. I to formally read him his rights and subsequently take any statement he wished to make (i.e. get his side of the story).

However, when MEYERS tried to drive away from the CRC to Sem. I, the protestors blocked her route. At least two of the TCSO deputies (the lieutenant and the sergeant, whose names I do not know) moved to flank MEYERS' patrol car, and were subsequently surrounded by the (growing) crowd that gathered around MEYERS' vehicle. The TCSO lieutenant (and possibly others) attempted to explain to the crowd that WILLIAMS would only be taken to Sem. I (rather than the county jail) for processing, and would probably be released once his identity and contact info had been recorded. With thecrowd pressing closer (and certain members reportedly trying to snatch the deputies' guns), the TCSO lieutenant called for reinforcements, but instructed they should keep at a distance and not intervene until further notice.

With the crowd growing more unruly, and chanting (among other things) "let him go," the TCSO lieutenant suggested to officer MEYERS that she take WILLIAMS' ID and contact information and release him, so that he could questioned (and if necessary, charged) at a later date. MEYERS consented, and both she and the TCSO lieutenant attempted to explain to the crowd that they were going to release the arrestee. By this point, most of the crowd wasn't listening.

While Officer MEYERS took down WILLIAMS' info, and subsequently released him, the TCSO lieutenant, feeling the safety of the officers within the crowd was in jeopardy, requested (by radio) the backup units (OPD) to break through the crowd to relieve the surrounded officers. When OPD moved in, people at the outer edges of the crowd locked arms to prevent them from creating an opening. It was only at this point, with 3-5 officers at the center of the crowd at credible risk of severe injury (note: people in the crowd had tried to snatch their guns), that OPD opted to use force to create an opening.

By the accounts of members of various police agencies involved, they tried for over half and hour to de-escalate the situation using non-violent methods. When OPD arrived, they didn't immediately wade in, going off at half-cock and swinging batons and spraying OC left and right; they stood by until the TCSO lieutenant asked them to intervene, and they employed force only after meeting with resistance.
Admittedly, OPD employed force immediately upon encountering resistance, but this was after they'd been able to observe that the crowd wasn't responding to attempts at de-escalation.

Now, if there's evidence that contradicts this version of evetns, I'd like to see it. Claims to the effect of "there's no footage of Meyers at al. trying non-violent de-escalation because they never tried it" doesn't cut it; the CAPCOM logs indicate that there was a roughly 30-minute period between TCSO deputies arriving the CRC and the OPD breaking into the crowd with batons and OC. If Officer MEYERS and the TCSO deputies were escalating the situation during that time, there should be footage of at least part of it (What, you want me to believe that nobody had a camera handy until the second OPD busted out the pepper spray? Bullshit.), and I want to see it.

If you get a call that there's a large crowd surrounding a few officers, you don't go into the situation with the mindset that you're going to be asking the crowd to "please step away."

The time for talking ended a long time ago.

That says it all - it especially says something about the people who insisted there was no trouble at all until the OPD showed up. It's one thing for an armchair pundit to have taken the concertgoers' side and believed that without any evidence - but for those who were actually there, it makes them nothing but liars.

I have never said that police are above the law are that there approaches to situations should not be reviewed.  In my experiences whenever there is a confrontation that lead to multiple arrests many reviews are done.  Debriefings happen to ensure that the situation was handled appropriately.

We also forget that the police (TCSO I think) was quoted as saying that students were tugging at there holstered guns.  Scary thought.

Unfortunately I have come across law enforcement that has done some stupid things and many officers have gone to jail.  I think bert is trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill with his constant pleas to deflect blame from 1) the organizers of this event 2) the concert goers who got out of hand.